Merchant Shipping Order Increases Borrowing Limit to £166 Million

UK New Legislation

Published March 12th, 2026

Detected March 12th, 2026

Summary

The UK Secretary of State for Transport, with Treasury approval, has issued the Merchant Shipping (General Lighthouse Authorities) (Increase of Borrowing Limit) Order 2026. This order increases the aggregate borrowing limit for general lighthouse authorities from £133 million to £166 million, effective March 31, 2026.

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What changed

The Merchant Shipping (General Lighthouse Authorities) (Increase of Borrowing Limit) Order 2026 amends the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 by increasing the aggregate borrowing limit for general lighthouse authorities. The previous limit of £133 million, established in December 2024, will be raised to £166 million, taking effect on March 31, 2026. This action was taken by the Secretary of State for Transport with the approval of the Treasury and has been approved by the House of Commons.

This change impacts the financial capacity of general lighthouse authorities to borrow money for specified purposes. While no specific compliance deadline is mentioned for regulated entities, the increased limit becomes effective on March 31, 2026. No impact assessment was produced, suggesting no significant impact on the private, voluntary, or public sectors is anticipated.

What to do next

Note the increased borrowing limit of £166 million for General Lighthouse Authorities, effective March 31, 2026.
Review internal financial policies if directly impacted by the borrowing limits of General Lighthouse Authorities.

Source document (simplified)

Status:

This is the original version (as it was originally made). This item of legislation is currently only available in its original format.

Statutory Instruments

2026 No. 258

MERCHANT SHIPPING

The Merchant Shipping (General Lighthouse Authorities) (Increase of Borrowing Limit) Order 2026

Made

11th March 2026

Coming into force

12th March 2026

The Secretary of State makes this Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 216(2) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (“ the Act ”)(1), and with the approval of the Treasury.

In accordance with section 216(3) of the Act, a draft of this Order has been laid before and approved by a resolution of the House of Commons.

Citation, commencement and extent

This Order—

(a) may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (General Lighthouse Authorities) (Increase of Borrowing Limit) Order 2026;

(b) comes into force on the day after the day on which it is made; and

Increase of borrowing limit

The limit specified in section 216(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 is increased with effect from 12:01 a.m. on 31st March 2026 to £166 million.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport

Simon Lightwood

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Transport

11th March 2026

We approve the making of this Order

Christian Wakeford

Gen Kitchen

Two of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury

10th March 2026

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Under section 215 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (“ the 1995 Act ”), general lighthouse authorities may borrow money for certain purposes and subject to obtaining the necessary consents. Under section 216(1) of the 1995 Act, the aggregate amount that may be outstanding in respect of the principal of any sums borrowed is limited to £100 million. This limit was increased to £133 million on the 31st December 2024 by the Merchant Shipping (General Lighthouse Authorities) (Increase of Borrowing Limit) Order 2024 (S.I. 2024/1274).

This Order increases that limit by a further £33 million, i.e. to £166 million, with effect from 31st March 2026, in accordance with section 216(2) of the 1995 Act.

No impact assessment has been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

An Explanatory Memorandum and a de minimis assessment have been prepared and are published alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.

(1) 1995 c. 21.